Board-clamp.



H. F. MOREHEAD.

BOARD CLAMP.

APPLICATION FILED 00125, 1910.

Patented Feb. 20, 1912.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HUG-H F. MOREHEAD, OF NEW BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT.

BOARD-CLAMP.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HUGH F. MoRnHEAD, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New Britain, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Board-Clamps, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a device for setting up flooring and other timber construction, and has for its object to provide an improved device in the nature of a board clamp or jack by means of which this setting up can be conveniently and quickly accomplished.

More particularly the invention resides in producing a device of this sort which is reversible giving it a wide range of use to permit of the convenient operation of the device either for pushing or pulling a piece of lumber into position to be permanently fastened.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a side view of the tool showing one manner of its use. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing another manner of its use. Fig. 3 is a perspective view.

Referring to the drawings it will be seen that the device comprises a base a bifurcated at one end as indicated at Z), and having pivoted therein a lever 0 provided with a fulcrum point (Z. The base on one side has one or more downwardly projecting hooks e.

The invention is illustrated as being used in laying tongue and grooved boards, and it will be understood that many times these boards are warped and the tongues and grooves fit very tightly so that it is necessary to exert considerable force to force up a board into position preparatory to nailing it down. Where there is plenty of room the device is preferably used as illustrated in Fig. 1 where it will be seen that the fulcrum Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 25, 1910.

Patented Feb. 20, 1912.

Serial No. 589,016.

point (Z is engaged in a heavy timber so that when the lever c is moved to the left the board will be pushed up into position.

In many cases and particularly in laying flooring it is impossible to use a device in the manner illustrated in Fig. 1 when a side wall is being approached as there is not sufiicient room to operate the lever. In such cases the lever is reversed in the base by merely swinging it around on its pivot to the position shown in Fig. 2, where it will be seen that the hooks e e engage the board which is being laid, and by means of the lever the board is pulled into position. then used in this way and in order to avoid marring the floor with the fulcrum point (Z, I lay in a strip 8 of waste material which at one end rests against the wall and extends between the hooks c, e and lies under and forms a bearing for the fulcrum point (i.

I claim A device of the class described comprising a flat rectangular base provided with a bifurcated end, a lever pivoted at its lower end in the bifurcated end of said base, the bifurcation in the base being of a length to permit reversing of the base on the lever for detachment to present either face of the base uppermost a longitudinally-extending plate secured to said lever and having one end projecting below the pivoted end of the lever and constituting a fulcrum point, and a pair of plates secured to one face of the base and having angularlydisposed ends constituting hooks, said angularly-disposed ends positioned at that end of the plate opposite the bifurcated end of the latter with the outer face of the hooks flush with the adjacent end of the base.

HUGH F. MOREHEAD.

Witnesses:

B. T. GAFFNEY, NELLIE M. SULLIVAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of IPatents, Washington, D. G. 

